Like many readers I have certain differences that effect my ability to perceive and manipulate tarot cards.

Some Thoughts On Qualifying A Tarot Deck

1. Do you have special needs and does the deck you have (or want) meet you joyfully where you’re at?

2. If the deck isn’t perfect out of the box can you do your own modifications to it or would it ruin your enjoyment of using it?

3. If you can’t modify the deck, can you use an additional tool to assist your enjoyment (like different lighting or shuffling in a non traditional way) or can you find a better fit in a different deck or format?

You know yourself best and I know you’re ready to embrace doing whatever honors your interest in Tarot. For some that may mean a DIY craft project that labels your cards in a way that is easier for you to read and for others it may mean using a book-easel to hold cards upright so you don’t have to.

Thoughts on Being Different 

I am not alone.

When I created my signature design I was mindful of differences and hoped to meet others where they were, should they happen share these or other differences. I wanted to represent different bodies in my tarot deck and connect us all to the experience of incarnation we share.

An issue of importance to me is representing different bodies as powerful, sexy and possessing agency. I created the Queen of Pentacles as vital, empowered and sexy. She was my second choice for the “covergirl” of my tarot deck box (instead ending up as the header/footer images) because I ultimately picked Strength which better represented what I went through in creating this, my first curated physical art product. I modeled my Nine of Wands who is differently limbed after the beautifully inspiring men of YouTube makeup influencers (notice his fierce lipstick!). 

In my card the Five of Pentacles I contrasted two differently bodied figures: a silver-haired mature woman with the genetic condition of Giantism and a young man with the genetic condition of Dwarfism. I felt a special call to include differently bodied persons especially those that were historically marginalized, objectified and exhibited in circuses as oddities for the amusement of those with the unearned privilege of normative bodiedness. As a fully tattooed person, I am sensitive to the unwanted energy of objectification. 

Another issue I wanted to address in my tarot card deck was being a super-sized person in a society that still feels comfortable dehumanizing people with large bodies. I drew my King of Pentacles as a large size man based on the Chinese Emperor Wu of Han. I also felt moved to include a large woman as the central figure in my Three of Cups trio of revelers. 

I am visually atypical. I experience intermittent visual challenges related to a slow growing, benign brain tumor I have had for half my life. This condition makes me highly photosensitive making very bright sunlight downright painful and my sensitivity is profoundly increased when in the grips of a migraine. When I use color in my art I tend to gravitate to high contrast because it makes visual legibility easier for me in low light. For others, high contrast is of value in candlelight or for those like myself whom may not well tolerate very bright light.

I experience mild but persistent tendon and joint inflammation which has unfortunately led to nerve damage in my fingers, wrists and elbows due to repetitive stress injuries related to long hours of tattooing and illustration. This means I find it painful to work with extra wide, jumbo or micro format cards which make my fingers, wrists and elbows ache and go numb. I personally find the typical traditional size most comfortable especially when my hands hurt. This comes into play while shuffling or even cards long sessions of card pulls.

Read about other tarot card sizes here.

As they say, variety is the spice of life😊